Since July 2008, Wikipedia users have seen the pleas for help on Wikipedia’s site. The people behind Wikipedia have asked its users for $6 million to continue operating the site. You’d think that $6 million from the site’s users would be an easy target to achieve, and for the earlier months it did seem like so.

Contributions started to wane, however. In December, Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, posted a personal appeal for more contributions. On Jan. 2, 2008, less than a month after Wales posted his personal appeal, Wikipedia has achieved its $6 million goal.

That $6 million will fund Wikipedia’s day-to-day operations, as well as software and content development for the next six months (or effectively for the current fiscal year).

It has long amazed me how Wikipedia could have survived for so long relying only on donations. Sure there are organizations like the Stanton Foundation, Arcadia, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation that has dished out more than $100,000 to $1 million each to fund the program or even hardware support. However, a bulk of its operating and systems costs is being shouldered by donors contributing less than $50,000 each. Wikipedia is not even considering advertising as a source of income.

Wikipedia has proven that even without advertising, a site can survive by making free and useful content available. It is this perceived usefulness that drives people to keep it alive even during a recession.

More than any other site, Wikipedia is testament to the adage that “content is king.” Content does not only set your site apart from your competitors, it is what keeps your site afloat.

And to those who wish to further Wikipedia’s cause, you can still contribute. Any amount you give to Wikipedia, through the Wikimedia Foundation, will be put in a reserve fund that will be used in the next fiscal year, or beyond.

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